Bugatti joins forces with electric hypercar maker Rimac

Electric hypercar company Rimac is taking control of Volkswagen’s supercar brand Bugatti as part of a joint venture with Porsche (which VW owns). Bugatti and Rimac will share resources and expertise but remain separate brands with their own production and distribution setups as part of the new company, which will be called Bugatti Rimac.

Once the joint venture is up and running, which is expected to happen later this year, Bugatti will be able to harness Rimac's EV knowhow and perhaps carry on its legacy of making electric vehicles. Rimac, meanwhile, can tap into the knowledge of Bugatti, which makes the second-fastest street-legal car on the planet in the Bugatti Veyron.

Rimac will own 55 percent of Bugatti Rimac and Porsche will hold the remainder. As of March, Porsche directly owns 24 percent of Rimac, following an initial investment for a 10 percent stake in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Rimac Group is creating a new company, Rimac Technology, to handle "development, production and supply of battery systems, drivetrains and other EV components."

Bugatti Rimac's headquarters will be in Zagreb, Croatia, where Rimac is based. A 200 million Euro ($237.3 million) Rimac Campus is scheduled to open in 2023 and it will be the research and development hub for both Rimac and Bugatti hypercars.

“We are combining Bugatti’s strong expertise in the hypercar business with Rimac’s tremendous innovative strength in the highly promising field of electromobility," Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement. "Bugatti is contributing a tradition-rich brand, iconic products, a loyal customer base and a global dealer network to the joint venture. In addition to technology, Rimac is contributing new development and organizational approaches.”